Sorry, won't happen.

Hope I can check with you years from now.

I highly doubt that. I will describe in detail the particulars of that situation. I was in a Home Depot in Knoxville, TN about three yerars ago. In the check out line a small girl was asking her father who was a average sized man (I could have told you he was 6'6" or he was Chuck Liddell just to make myself look tougher) what a particular item on the shelf was. The father told his daughter to be quiet and she did so. Later, down the aisle the little girl asked what something else was and the father slapped her across the face and then "spanked" her bottom. At that time I walked up to him and told him that the slap was uncalled for and if he hit the girl again that I would hit him. The man looked at me angrily then dropped his head after he realized that I was not a 8 year old girl or afraid of him. If after witnessing that display of "discipline" you wouldn't have said anything then I think that would be a cowardly act. If I hadn't said anything then I would have been a coward.

 

It is not my place to tell you how to discipline your kids. What gets my craw, is that every time a kid messes up or an adult commits a crime there is a ton of people screaming that the kid probably wasn't spanked and if he had been then he wouldn't be a criminal. The fact of the matter is that all parents have a different way of disciplining their child. There are adults who got spanked as kids that are highly successful and there are kids that got spanked who turn out to be murderers and rapists. The same thing goes for kids who didn't get spanked. What methods an individual parent employs to raise there kids is there business, but when someone crosses the line something should be done.

 

I'm sure all of the super parents on this site will say that my house must be a zoo and that I have no discipline. That is fine by me. I know how to handle my business and I don't spank or hit my kids in order to do it.

 

For those who are quoting scripture, I have this to say. Just becuase I don't spank my child does not mean that I do not discipline them.

 

To the poster you wanted to bet who's kids would turn out better. I'll take that bet and hope and pray that they all turn out fine.

 

Good luck and God Bless.

You're not describing discipline or spanking here, you're describing child abuse. Big difference between the two.

Hope I can check with you years from now.

So what would your plan be if spanking didn't work?

So what would your plan be if spanking didn't work?

I doubt that I'd have that problem to be honest with you.

You're not describing discipline or spanking here, you're describing child abuse. Big difference between the two.

 

Depending on how bad a spanking is, it could be child abuse.

Depending on how bad a spanking is, it could be child abuse.

There's a difference between spanking and beating.

I doubt that I'd have that problem to be honest with you.

So why do certain kids continue to be spanked or whatever all throughout their childhood? Now you're just stretching.

So why do certain kids continue to be spanked or whatever all throughout their childhood? Now you're just stretching.

That's like asking why do we continue to breathe? Who's stretching?

That's like asking why do we continue to breathe? Who's stretching?

So then what does the spanking accomplish if you have to continually keep doing it?

I can honestly say that every spanking I recieved was well deserved. There are actually plenty more I should have recieved. Spanking does not hurt you. A little humility is good for everyone.

In all honestly, those without children should not be even in this discussion. You do not know what you will do! It's like me saying what I would do definitively as an NFL quarterback. You know what, I'm not an NFL QB, so I don't know what I'm talking about. Honestly, I don't know what is more annoying to a parent than a non-parent giving his/her advice on childrearing. You can read all you want, you can baby-sit the entire neighborhood, but until you've actually been there 24/7, then you do not know. I'm not defending spanking one way or the other, I do what works for my family and I don't pretend to know what works for anyone else. But at least I have some idea what I'm talking about! Apparently it's incredibly easy to pass judgement on something you do not understand and have no experience with.

In all honestly, those without children should not be even in this discussion. You do not know what you will do! It's like me saying what I would do definitively as an NFL quarterback. You know what, I'm not an NFL QB, so I don't know what I'm talking about. Honestly, I don't know what is more annoying to a parent than a non-parent giving his/her advice on childrearing. You can read all you want, you can baby-sit the entire neighborhood, but until you've actually been there 24/7, then you do not know. I'm not defending spanking one way or the other, I do what works for my family and I don't pretend to know what works for anyone else. But at least I have some idea what I'm talking about! Apparently it's incredibly easy to pass judgement on something you do not understand and have no experience with.

 

I believe you are coming off a little hard on some people.

 

There are numerous studies dedicated to this kind of thing, it doesn't take a parent to read those.

 

I'm not saying a spanking here or there isn't necessary, I don't know. I'm just saying that you don't have to have kids to have an opinion. I am in a domestic violence class right now, and we've been talking about correct ways to raise a child without these "punishments". Do I believe all of the ways I'm learning will work? I don't know. Do I believe that all of the punishments (Spankings, timeouts) are always bad? I don't know. But I believe I, and others without children, can share our opinions and contribute to the conversation.

And I appreciate your opinions, really I do. It's just that absolutely nothing in this world prepares you for being a parent. At the risk of sounding patronizing--someday, if you are lucky, you will understand. Parenting is unlike anything else and the only way to learn how to do it is to experience it.

Comparing spanking to being an NFL QB is a little ridiculous. I'm not passing judgment on anyone, all that I'm saying is that in general I don't believe it's necessary and I can definitively say without doubt that I will never spank my kids or anything else of the sort.

So then what does the spanking accomplish if you have to continually keep doing it?

You're missing the point. Kids will always try to test you as they grow, it's part of growing up. Some will test more than others, some will respond to one type of punishment that others will ignore. It's your job as a parent to figure out what works best. You'll learn, and trust me, it is a learning experience.